Fleeing from Hurricane Katrina

Monday, August 29, 2005

Note from Dianne: I am having trouble uploading pictures at this time. I will try later.

Upon hearing the likelihood that Hurricane Katrina was headed for New Orleans and surrounding areas, my family and I made the decision to leave. Houston, Texas became our destination of choice. We poured over a U.S. Atlas, comparing the safety factor of several different cities. At first, we made reservations at a hotel in Memphis, Texas. But then, we saw the projected path and decided that Memphis was not the best choice as it was likely the storm would travel north to that area. So we called Hotels.com and cancelled our reservations and they helped us make reservations for four rooms at America’s Best Value Inn in Humble, Texas.

I scurried around the house, stuffing a week’s worth of clothes for my children and me into one suitcase. My in-laws were traveling with us and we had limited space. I gathered our vital records and important documents, and packed items of importance from my office. We parked our Nissan Sentra in the garage and after my in-laws arrived, crammed our belongings into my Plymouth Voyager. We were caravanning with my brother and his four children (he has a Crown Victoria) and my parents (they have an SUV). We left around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2005. My thought was that if we drove in the middle of the night, we would avoid the major traffic jams and congestion that was inevitable on Sunday, when people woke up realized that they really had to leave. It later turned out to be the wise decision.

We live on the West Bank in Jefferson Parish, which is located across the Mississippi from New Orleans. At that point, our parish president had called for a voluntary evacuation. We traveled across the Crescent City Connection with no problems. The tolls had been lifted. Slowing occurred as the vehicles approached the Contra Flow. All incoming lanes of traffic were converted into outgoing lanes to ease the congestion for a smoother evacuation. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to arrive in Baton Rouge (normally 1 hour and 30 minutes) so we were happy. Traffic continued to flow smoothly and we made it to Houston in less than 7 hours. Considering the amount of cars on the road and the few stops we made, 7 hours was good time. Because we traveled in the wee hours, the kids slept through most of the night so we didn’t have that “Are we there yet?” and backseat battles most families endure when they travel.

Last year, when we evacuated for Ivan, it took us 14 hours to arrive in Houston. My parents and brother left two hours behind us and it took them 20 hours to travel to Austin Texas (normally a 9 hour drive). Having learned the hard way, this time, we planned a more orderly family evacuation, keeping all of us together. Unfortunately, our hotel reservations were for Sunday night and we needed a place to rest. My mom called one of her best friends, Erlie, who lives in Sugarland, Texas, just outside of Houston. Auntie Erlie invited us to rest at her house. After getting lost due to Houston road construction, we finally made it to Auntie Erlie’s house, weary but relieved.

After arriving, Auntie Erlie (she and my mom went to high school together on a small island in the Philippines and are very close) insisted that we stay with her. There are 14 of us altogether and my mom did not want to impose. Auntie Erlie said that is what “family” is for and she extolled the virtues of her big house. She said she had a place for everyone to sleep. Being stubborn, my mom declined the invitation at first.

Then my mother-in-law received a call from her sister. A mandatory evacuation had been called for New Orleans for the first time in history. She and her family were traveling to Texas but had no hotel. It was our chance to help. My mom knew what she had to do. We accepted Auntie Erlie’s invitation and gave up our rooms for my husband’s family. We went to breakfast at Golden Corral and when we returned to Auntie Erlie’s house, we watched hurricane coverage on the weather channel and CNN, anxious to track the raging storm. Auntie Erlie and her husband, Jim, have high speed Internet. Through the Internet, we were also able to watch streaming video live coverage from our local news stations, WWL-TV and WDSU in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina went from a strong category 4 (sustained winds of 131 to 155) to an intense category 5 (sustained winds of 155+), thrashing angrily at 175 mph.

Auntie Erlie fortified us with a feast of home-cooked Filipino food – chicken adobo (chicken in a brown gravy made with garlic and vinegar), lechon (roasted pork), crabs boiled in coconut milk, roasted beef brisket, lumpia (Filipino eggroll), rice, and cassava cake (made with cassava, coconut, and jackfruit).

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and President George W. Bush all urged people to consider their families and their lives and leave the New Orleans area. Nine parishes called for mandatory evacuations and we continued to pray for our friends and family who were still caught on the road or who decided to stay behind (out of sheer folly, in my opinion). Antonio’s stubborn uncle, disabled in a wheel chair, decided to stay behind and chained his doors so that the authorities could not remove him from his house. We are scared out of our minds for his safety.

We have been glued to the TV screen and watched thousands of people line up outside the Superdome, waiting to get in to escape the wrath of the hurricane. Authorities estimate loss of life in the several thousands because of a possible 30 ft. storm surge. New Orleans is a bowl and collects water faster than a bathtub. Experts also warn that this may be the most devastating natural event to have ever occurred in the United States. We have many friends and family with whom we cannot get in touch because all circuits are busy. Please pray for all the people who have been left behind.

Worse case scenario says that we may be under water for months. It seems Katrina is the big one we have all been fearing. My brother compared satellite imagery of our houses to the hurricane’s projected path and it appears that the eye wall will pass directly over our houses. The eye is 35 miles wide. Katrina is slated to hit early Monday morning and we wait with baited breath. If New Orleans gets hit, it is likely my website (http://www.storyconnection.net) will be down as my host is a New Orleans based company. I may also experience trouble with my email.

The pictures you see are of the front of my house and the inside of my office. If we lose our house (likely with a direct hit), we can always rebuild. What's important is that I have what matters most - my family. We also have the kindness of my aunt, who says that we can stay in her house as long as we need. It is good to be inside the comfort of a beautiful house surrounded by the laughter of five small children (my brother’s four children and my five-year-old, Eliana). Please continue to pray for us and all the people in our area who will be affected by this catastrophic storm.

I will keep you updated via my blog. Thank you for reading.

Until next time…